Farm And Garden Chat

[Zone8]

Thought I would start this thread in preparation for Spring ...sometime the middle of March at this point?

[Roberts Creeker]

Great idea!!! I've started tomatoes already, got a grow light at Costco and since I didn't get many last year I figured I was late starting them, this year that is not going to be my problem.... I'll probably be to early

It's 3am and I'm up because a friend has a ewe in labour and was worried about her,, so he called me. At least I'm not the one out in the freezing cold staring at the south end of a north bound sheep.

[Zone8]

Great idea!!! I've started tomatoes already, got a grow light at Costco and since I didn't get many last year I figured I was late starting them, this year that is not going to be my problem.... I'll probably be to early

It's 3am and I'm up because a friend has a ewe in labour and was worried about her,, so he called me. At least I'm not the one out in the freezing cold staring at the south end of a north bound sheep.

Ooo a grow light I want one now, what a good idea! I have a feeling we'll go from Winter to Summer and have two weeks of Spring so your tomatoes could be right on que!

Early girl is a good tomato variety if you want more tomatoes sooner, if I'm lazy I'll get some already started!

Looking at my seeds, this week deciding what to do...

I hope the ewe is ok and possibly a little new lamb, I suppose things can go wrong in those situations so hopefully she's ok, good thing you are on hand to help out. So you're a ewe midwife too!

What a lovely time of year to have all the little lambs bouncing around.

I wonder how many of us are into farming/gardening? Looking forward to this forum subject. It's interesting to find out how many varied interests we all have and how the weather brings us all together! :clap dance: :

[PortKells]

Great idea!!! I've started tomatoes already, got a grow light at Costco and since I didn't get many last year I figured I was late starting them, this year that is not going to be my problem.... I'll probably be to early

It's 3am and I'm up because a friend has a ewe in labour and was worried about her,, so he called me. At least I'm not the one out in the freezing cold staring at the south end of a north bound sheep.

We recently had 9 new lambs on the farm, but only 5 have survived, one due to the ewe being too cold to nurse, and the others due to a vicious group of coyotes near the farm that got desperate due to the cold weather. Why they had their babies in the middle of winter, we'll never know

[Roberts Creeker]

Ooo a grow light I want one now, what a good idea! I have a feeling we'll go from Winter to Summer and have two weeks of Spring so your tomatoes could be right on que!

Early girl is a good tomato variety if you want more tomatoes sooner, if I'm lazy I'll get some already started!

Looking at my seeds, this week deciding what to do...

I hope the ewe is ok and possibly a little new lamb, I suppose things can go wrong in those situations so hopefully she's ok, good thing you are on hand to help out. So you're a ewe midwife too!

What a lovely time of year to have all the little lambs bouncing around.

I wonder how many of us are into farming/gardening? Looking forward to this forum subject. It's interesting to find out how many varied interests we all have and how the weather brings us all together! :clap dance: :

I think you're right about the winter to summer thing. It's my first year with a grow light and I have two persimmons I started from seeds this winter under there, they are growing really well, about 6" up and the leaves are as big as my hand already, course I planted them in some good 'farm' soil.

I have started Ox Heart, Not Black Tula (it was supposed to be Black from Tula but wasn't but it was a delicious tomato) and a yellow cherry that was so sweet last year. I collected my own seeds and just for fun ordered some too, Black from Tula potato leaf, Dark Galaxy, and three others. In my winter excitement over thoughts of spring I 'forgot' that I only have space for 8 tomatoes in my greenhouse, may have to build another greenhouse. I'm like that with chickens too, had to build two new pens and divide a shed up for the extra breeds. If you're into tomatoes, check this out, Tatiana's Tomato Base, she has about 1100 varieties!!! http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Main_Page

The sheep thing didn't go well, sometimes farming is a challenge, the ewe died but they did a c-section and pulled two live lambs and now there are going to be four families pitching in to help raise them. I had my ram slaughtered today, he was living up to his name and trying to ram me and I liked him, especially on the other side of the fence, but I'm sure happy about not having to watch out for him. As with all things, good and bad.

What all do you grow?

[Roberts Creeker]

We recently had 9 new lambs on the farm, but only 5 have survived, one due to the ewe being too cold to nurse, and the others due to a vicious group of coyotes near the farm that got desperate due to the cold weather. Why they had their babies in the middle of winter, we'll never know

That's a shame to lose so many lambs. I have sure been happy that I separated my ram out last fall, normally I like early lambs but for some reason, I planned for March lambs so I didn't put them together until October and I am sure happy about that. I always try to be there for lambing and standing around for 3-4 hours in the freezing cold barn watching the lambing and making sure they were up nursing, etc. would have been awful. What type of sheep do you have?

[Zone8]

We recently had 9 new lambs on the farm, but only 5 have survived, one due to the ewe being too cold to nurse, and the others due to a vicious group of coyotes near the farm that got desperate due to the cold weather. Why they had their babies in the middle of winter, we'll never know

That's tough, sorry to hear that. We had a nice warm spell for awhile which would have been ok I'm sure but this Feb weather sounds more challenging for the ewes and lambs and I suppose the coyotes too. And you! Do you have any other live stock?

[Zone8]

I think you're right about the winter to summer thing. It's my first year with a grow light and I have two persimmons I started from seeds this winter under there, they are growing really well, about 6" up and the leaves are as big as my hand already, course I planted them in some good 'farm' soil.

I have started Ox Heart, Not Black Tula (it was supposed to be Black from Tula but wasn't but it was a delicious tomato) and a yellow cherry that was so sweet last year. I collected my own seeds and just for fun ordered some too, Black from Tula potato leaf, Dark Galaxy, and three others. In my winter excitement over thoughts of spring I 'forgot' that I only have space for 8 tomatoes in my greenhouse, may have to build another greenhouse. I'm like that with chickens too, had to build two new pens and divide a shed up for the extra breeds. If you're into tomatoes, check this out, Tatiana's Tomato Base, she has about 1100 varieties!!! http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Main_Page

The sheep thing didn't go well, sometimes farming is a challenge, the ewe died but they did a c-section and pulled two live lambs and now there are going to be four families pitching in to help raise them. I had my ram slaughtered today, he was living up to his name and trying to ram me and I liked him, especially on the other side of the fence, but I'm sure happy about not having to watch out for him. As with all things, good and bad.

What all do you grow?

Too bad about the ewe, weird I had a feeling it might not have gone so well, ugh. No wonder, I'm sure birthing twins adds an extra challenge for her. Everyone will be busy now with the twins and feeding! Good thing you waited till Oct for lambing season this year and Mr. Ram has left his legacy, maybe you'll have a less aggresive one next time!! Farming, I think helps with a healthy outlook on life. I like your saying "as with all things good and bad" .

When I lived on a farm in Italy, I was petrified of being attacked by a few particulary vicious gobbler turkeys. Multiple times I was so close to being attacked, never ran so fast in my life!

I have a small veggie plot so not so much volume but manage to have a little of everything, some brussel sprouts which didn't do so well this year, kale, chard, squash, zucchini, carrots, beets, radishes, garlic, strawberries masses of rasberries, rhubarb, scarlet runner beans, tomatoes had early girl last year and something else I can't remember ( I'll check out that tomato link, thank you).
I have a garden and design business so it keeps me pretty busy....except not right now with all the snow!
I yearn to be back on a farm, city life pays the bills for me for now but not my heart!

[Roberts Creeker]

Too bad about the ewe, weird I had a feeling it might not have gone so well, ugh. No wonder, I'm sure birthing twins adds an extra challenge for her. Everyone will be busy now with the twins and feeding! Good thing you waited till Oct for lambing season this year and Mr. Ram has left his legacy, maybe you'll have a less aggresive one next time!! Farming, I think helps with a healthy outlook on life. I like your saying "as with all things good and bad" .

When I lived on a farm in Italy, I was petrified of being attacked by a few particulary vicious gobbler turkeys. Multiple times I was so close to being attacked, never ran so fast in my life!

I have a small veggie plot so not so much volume but manage to have a little of everything, some brussel sprouts which didn't do so well this year, kale, chard, squash, zucchini, carrots, beets, radishes, garlic, strawberries masses of rasberries, rhubarb, scarlet runner beans, tomatoes had early girl last year and something else I can't remember ( I'll check out that tomato link, thank you).
I have a garden and design business so it keeps me pretty busy....except not right now with all the snow!
I yearn to be back on a farm, city life pays the bills for me for now but not my heart!

Yah, phone calls at 3 am aren't usually a good sign but I heard today the lambs are doing really well, so that's good news. My ram totally surprised me by being tender and delicious, tastes a lot like beef, I thought he would have a strong mutton flavour but doesn't, and it's so nice to go in and visit with the ewes when I let them in/out/feed so a win/win, for me at least. The girls are happy too I think because he'd shove them out of his way at the feed trough. Roosters are much nicer to their girls, they find tidbits and call them over, watch out for predators and settle fights all the ram does is shove his girls around. Always interesting to watch the different dynamics. I will start with a ram lamb this time, I've been buying rams that other people are selling, cheaper than a young ram lamb, and it's become obvious to me why. If you train the properly they'll be pretty good.

I agree, farming gives you a healthy outlook on life, you're dealing with life and death all the time so it's more realistic.

Sounds like you have a nice variety in your garden. I transplanted my tomatoes into 16 oz cups today and have started some more, my seeds from Tatiana's arrived today.

At least you have your garden so a little bit of farming until you can get back to it.

[moonshadow0825]

Ooo a grow light I want one now, what a good idea! I have a feeling we'll go from Winter to Summer and have two weeks of Spring so your tomatoes could be right on que!

Early girl is a good tomato variety if you want more tomatoes sooner, if I'm lazy I'll get some already started!

Looking at my seeds, this week deciding what to do...

I should mention the grow light to hubby as he likes to start things from seed for our collapseable greenhouse, though not sure where i'd put a grow light in this little house.

just a suburban gardener here, I do tomatoes, zucchini and beans in pots. have raspberries and 4 different fruit trees. oh, and potatoes. you can't live in Ladner and not grow potatoes or blueberries. it's one or both and I think they fine you or something if you don't grow potatoes

I cheat though and don't grow the plants from seed as I only need about 8 plants and like a variety. fortunately we have West Coast Seeds so I take advantage of their seedling sale in early May.

last year I added tomatillos and ground cherries in the garden, both did really well

[Roberts Creeker]

I should mention the grow light to hubby as he likes to start things from seed for our collapseable greenhouse, though not sure where i'd put a grow light in this little house.

just a suburban gardener here, I do tomatoes, zucchini and beans in pots. have raspberries and 4 different fruit trees. oh, and potatoes. you can't live in Ladner and not grow potatoes or blueberries. it's one or both and I think they fine you or something if you don't grow potatoes

I cheat though and don't grow the plants from seed as I only need about 8 plants and like a variety. fortunately we have West Coast Seeds so I take advantage of their seedling sale in early May.

last year I added tomatillos and ground cherries in the garden, both did really well

Bathroom I just turned my bathroom cupboards into an aviary for Owl Finches. My pair bred and I needed somewhere to put the babies so they now have a 6' long flight cage.

I love potatoes, especially German Butter, they're my favourite. Costco has some that are red skin, yellow inside, I'm planting a few of them too, they have great flavour and texture.

Oh, you're so lucky, WC Seeds sale must be amazing. I'm like you, I only need a few of each but it's hard when you buy a package of seed, like 50-100 to just plant 2 of them.

[moonshadow0825]

Bathroom I just turned my bathroom cupboards into an aviary for Owl Finches. My pair bred and I needed somewhere to put the babies so they now have a 6' long flight cage.

I love potatoes, especially German Butter, they're my favourite. Costco has some that are red skin, yellow inside, I'm planting a few of them too, they have great flavour and texture.

Oh, you're so luck, WC Seeds sale must be amazing. I'm like you, I only need a few of each but it's hard when you buy a package of seed, like 50-100 to just plant 2 of them.

that's awesome!

I love german butter potatoes as well. we did french fingerlings and red potatoes last year, love the fingerlings and they produce pretty well too.
for years I did potatoes in cloches but we pulled out a hedge last year and turned the ground into a potato patch. tempted this year to try sweet potato in the cloches but I think I'd have to put the cloche in the greenhouse.

WC seeds sale is the best. I'll try to remember to post when they announce it but it's usually early May. all the locals arrive before the official open time and get all the good stuff, I've learned to arrive at 8.30 for a 9 am start

[stuffradio]

I should mention the grow light to hubby as he likes to start things from seed for our collapseable greenhouse, though not sure where i'd put a grow light in this little house.

just a suburban gardener here, I do tomatoes, zucchini and beans in pots. have raspberries and 4 different fruit trees. oh, and potatoes. you can't live in Ladner and not grow potatoes or blueberries. it's one or both and I think they fine you or something if you don't grow potatoes

I cheat though and don't grow the plants from seed as I only need about 8 plants and like a variety. fortunately we have West Coast Seeds so I take advantage of their seedling sale in early May.

last year I added tomatillos and ground cherries in the garden, both did really well

Tomatillos can grow like weeds.

[Roberts Creeker]

that's awesome!

I love german butter potatoes as well. we did french fingerlings and red potatoes last year, love the fingerlings and they produce pretty well too.
for years I did potatoes in cloches but we pulled out a hedge last year and turned the ground into a potato patch. tempted this year to try sweet potato in the cloches but I think I'd have to put the cloche in the greenhouse.

WC seeds sale is the best. I'll try to remember to post when they announce it but it's usually early May. all the locals arrive before the official open time and get all the good stuff, I've learned to arrive at 8.30 for a 9 am start

Thanks Moonshadow. I also have red french fingerlings, they didn't do that well this year but the first year I grew them they were huge, not fingerlings at all. I'm trying something new this year, planted my potatoes in October. I have wire worms and by the time I trim the damage out I have a french fry but I had some volunteers and they matured early before the wire worms hit and the potatoes were huge and lots per hill so I'm trying to imitate that. Will see how it goes.

Sweet potatoes would be cool. I tried a couple in my greenhouse but they were too late and didn't form tubers. Please post photos of the WC seed sale if you have time to take them. I'm on the Sunshine Coast so would have to leave home at 5:45 am to get there for 8:30...not gonna happen.

I'm looking forward to warmer weather and seeing everyone's garden pics. (might have to ask Hound to find some garden smilies)

[moonshadow0825]

Tomatillos can grow like weeds.

that's good to know, I suspect i will have first hand experience this year as we weren't able to pick all the fruit and a number fell off and rotted. If my potatoes are a good example I should have a whole bunch of "free" tomatillos this year